BIG NEWS: The RHA finally passed!

New York State has a dangerously outdatedabortion law. It's time to fix that.

Our state law was written in 1970, three years before the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. The state law is inconsistent with, and falls short of, the constitutional protections of Roeand its progeny, but it remains on the books in New York—which means that New Yorkers have no state statutory protection if the Supreme Court overturns Roe, a promise the GOP has made for years and may now be in a position to fulfill.

The State Assembly, for several years now, has passed a bill to fix NY law and bring it in line with the settled law of Roe v. Wade. The bill is called the Reproductive Health Act. It passed the Assembly again in March 2018, but was blocked by the Senate Health Committee from going to the floor for a vote.

The New York State legislative session ended in June, with no vote on this bill. But with Justice Kennedy's retirement, Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance and it's more critical than ever to protect reproductive rights here in New York State. So now is the time to demand a special session of the NY Legislature to vote on the RHA.

In addition, we need to pressure our state senators to be more vocal in the fight for the RHA. It's not enough just to co-sponsor the bill; truly pro-choice state senators must become active champions for the bill. We need to let our elected officials know that we are paying attention to how strongly they speak up for our reproductive rights.